Aberdeen airport traffic down

January 25, 2009|BY SCOTT WALTMAN, swaltman@aberdeennews.com

While considerably fewer commercial airline passengers used Aberdeen Regional Airport last year than in 2007, the city's transportation director said the airport is in no danger of losing flight service. Ticket prices and no western flight options are two of the reasons for the decline in traffic, Dave Osborn said. Last year, roughly 47,500 people took Mesaba Airline flights into or out of Aberdeen. That's higher than the roughly 44,000 Mesaba passengers in 2007. But the number of overall commercial passengers at the airport was down about 6,500 from 2007. That's a decline of about 12 percent. In 2007, about 10,000 people arrived or departed on Great Lakes Aviation flights before the provider stopped service to Aberdeen when federal grant money used to supplement its flights ran out. City and airport officials believe that the grant money was made available with a condition that Great Lakes rent space at the office for three years. Great Lakes, however, did not sign a rental agreement, and the airline has not paid rent since it left. Adam Altman, Aberdeen city attorney, said attempts to get the money have not been successful. It's unlikely the city will ever get the money or again be served by Great Lakes, he said. Not having an option to fly to Denver via Great Lakes hurt 2008 airport traffic, Osborn said. So did high ticket prices. He said many people drive to other cities to fly because they can get better deals on tickets. Jeff Mitchell, a city councilman and liaison member of the airport board, said there is probably no single thing that led to the decrease in numbers. High fuel prices, ticket prices, fewer flight options and a bad economy in which families and businesses likely cut back on travel all probably had an impact. But, he said, he would be surprised if Aberdeen were to lose service. "From all indications I've ever gotten, we're a profitable market for (Mesaba)," Mitchell said. Mesaba Airlines is owned by Northwest Airlines. Northwest was recently purchased by Delta Airlines. Kristin Baur, a spokeswoman for Northwest, said the airline has no plans to reduce service in Aberdeen. But, she said, Northwest is always watching the economy and examining operations. All companies do that, especially when times are tough, she said. Baur declined to speculate as to whether the number of flights to Aberdeen would be reduced before there would be any potential elimination of service. Mesaba offers four daily flights between Aberdeen and Minneapolis. Cindy Schick of Aberdeen, who does collections for Texas-based Gila Corp., said she flies out of Aberdeen about twice a month, mostly on business. She said she believes in using the local airport, but there are times it just doesn't make sense because there can be differences in ticket prices of a few hundred dollars or more. Most flights out of Aberdeen are at least $450, she said. "That's business-driven, pure and simple," Schick said of decisions to fly from other towns. It's nice to be able to fly west out of Huron, she said. Great Lakes still offers service to Denver from Huron, which is 100 miles from Aberdeen. The cost of flights from Aberdeen is something airport board members have discussed, intensely at times, in years past. It's also something Osborn is aware of but can't control. The latest commercial passenger numbers will likely be discussed at the next board meeting, Feb. 5, Osborn said. Schick said most passengers on Aberdeen flights are businessmen and businesswomen. Vacation travelers tend to fly out of other cities, she said. Saving a couple hundred dollars per person is a big deal, especially if an entire family making the trip, she said. But, Schick said, if people don't use the commercial service Mesaba provides Aberdeen, it's not out of the question that it could be discontinued. "That truly would be a disaster to the business community," Schick said. "We have a lot of sales people who live in this area and who fly out of there." Mary Worlie of Aberdeen said people don't think of supporting the Hub City airport the way they do a local bookstore or department store. They should, though, she said. Worlie, who flew out of Aberdeen for a holiday vacation, said she hasn't heard any talk about Aberdeen losing commercial service, but does think area residents need to use it or be faced with the prospect of losing it. Worlie said she would rather fly from an airport 10 minutes from home than travel to another town to save a few bucks. Some people don't take into consideration the time and cost to drive to other communities when they see their lower airfares, she said. Osborn appreciates Worlie's mindset and wants to keep flyers in Aberdeen. But, he said, there's no denying the cost of tickets is a huge factor for people when they decide which airport to use. "I guess that's the nice thing about flying," Osborn said. "You make it as convenient as you want to." Commercial passengers by year at Aberdeen Regional Airport 2008: 47,500 Mesaba passengers 2007: 54,000 (44,000 Mesaba, 10,000 Great Lakes) 2006: 53,000 (50,000 Mesaba, 2,000 Great Lakes, 1,000 other) 2005: 57,000 (56,000 Mesaba, 1,000 other) 2004: 54,000 (53,000 Mesaba, 1,000 other) 2003: 52,000 (Mesaba) 2002: 50,000 (Mesaba) Round-trip flight costs to popular destinations from Midwest airports Via airline Web sites as of Thursday afternoon Cheapest coach prices sought for single tickets, taxes and fees included Chicago March 22-27 Northwest Aberdeen: $475 Sioux Falls: $381 Fargo: $392 Bismarck: $401 Jamestown: $385 Minneapolis: $159 Orlando April 18-25 Northwest Aberdeen: $579 Sioux Falls: $502 Fargo: $500 Bismarck: $506 Jamestown: $543 Minneapolis: $279 Allegiant Sioux Falls: $301 Fargo: $330 (April 17-24) Las Vegas May 22-25 (Memorial Day weekend) Northwest Aberdeen: $536 Sioux Falls: $515 Fargo: $445 Bismarck: $488 Jamestown: $474 Minneapolis: $319 Allegiant Sioux Falls: $248 Fargo: $233 Bismarck: $233 Denver June 17-21 Northwest Aberdeen: $457 Sioux Falls: $605 Fargo: $363 Bismarck: $610 Jamestown: $392 Minneapolis: $239 Great Lakes Huron: $243 Pierre: $252 New York City July 10-19 Northwest Aberdeen: $355 Sioux Falls: $456 Fargo: $430 Bismarck: $416 Jamestown: $390 Minneapolis: $329